Members of the Vapour team and its extended network headed down to London last Thursday to show our CEO Tim Mercer support as he stepped into the boxing ring at CRN’s Fight Night — raising vital funds for our nominated charity of the year, Borne.
Despite putting on a truly courageous fight from start to finish, Tim ‘No Mercy’ Mercer was just pipped at the post by his opponent, Paul O’Sullivan in a choice blow which brought it down to points. Although he didn’t secure a blue corner win, the top tier performance did earn our founder the esteemed ‘Fighter of the Night’ title — ending the knuckle biting fundraiser on a high!
“It was a fantastic experience that made the weeks and months of hard graft worth it!” commented Vapour’s champion. “Those who know me will testify how much I revel in a physical challenge, so the opportunity to test my endurance, resolve, and grit at the event was too good to miss. It was emotional to see so many supporters out in full force ringside on the night as well.”
And the team isn’t stopping there. Next month, Vapour’s charity golf day returns to Oulton Hall in Leeds by popular demand. Following the success of last year’s event in September — which saw the team raise a fantastic £6,385 — golf fanatics will gather on the green on Thursday 23 June for a day of friendly competition and charitable donations. For anyone wishing to attend, there is still a handful of places remaining. But be quick — they won’t be free for long.
In 2021, the team announced its pledge to dig deep for this hardworking medical research charity. And since the announcement, various colleagues have got stuck into a number of fundraising activities — bake sales, sponsored walks, a half marathon, and an intense week of endurance fitness training, to name a few. So far, the donation tally sits at an astonishing £10,500, but we’re sure there’s plenty more where that came from.
Reflecting on the reasons for choosing Borne – an organisation dedicated to saving lives, preventing disability, and creating lifelong health for mothers and babies – Tim notes: “Our families are what we seek to protect the most, and with premature birth an ongoing difficulty that nobody completely understands, there seemed no better cause.
“It is the leading reason for childhood mortality in the world today. More significant than infection, trauma or cancer, it affects some 15 million babies across the world every year – including nearly 60,000 in the UK. So, we want to do our bit to help stop babies being born too soon. And we hope we can drum up a fair amount of support for our varied efforts.”
Follow Vapour on social media to watch more of the team’s fundraising efforts unfold.
Vapour boss Tim Mercer has signed up for his toughest fundraiser yet, all in aid of the premature birth charity, Borne.
On 19 May, our CEO will don his boxing gloves and step into the ring for the CRN Fight Night, at The Brewery in London.
A sell out industry event that has raised £220,000 for charity since the contests began in 2008, this is Tim’s first time up against an opponent.
Aware the selection process is notoriously tough, he applied to fight at the start of 2022, before being invited for a nerve-racking assessment. He was one of only 16 UK tech professionals selected, and all eyes are now on the black-tie event to see if Tim ‘No Mercy’ Mercer can bring home the title.
Fighting for the blue team, he will face Paul O’Sullivan, UK sales director at Threatscape, in the red corner.
Travelling to the Ring Boxing Club in Southwark, South London, every week for training, Tim had already upped his fitness regime last year, in preparation for his ‘week of hell’. That particular challenge - which saw him row, cycle, run and climb 286km - was one of his first major fundraisers for Borne back in October.
Since then, he and the Vapour team have raised £8,500 for the charity - and counting - with hopes that Fight Night will get them to £15,000. The ultimate goal is to reach £23,000 before the year is out.
Commenting on his latest challenge, Tim said: “I’m a big boxing fan, so when I saw the application process open for Fight Night, I thought - why not?!
“But when the news dropped that I’d made the lineup, s**t got real!
“There’s a difference between sparring and going toe to toe with an opponent - as I’ve already learned. But I’m tackling this event just as I would anything else - properly! I’m training hard, eating really well, and improving my technique week by week. I’ve got a table of supporters coming to cheer me on but I hope people will get behind me from a distance too, and dig deep for Borne.”
Over 15 million babies are born too soon every year, and 1 million of those die. Borne is a charity dedicated to saving lives, preventing disability, and creating lifelong health for mothers and babies. Anyone wishing to sponsor Tim can donate via Vapour’s JustGiving page.
